Liverpool may have been burned by signing Mario Balotelli, but they shouldn't close their eyes to Serie A if they go in search of a replacement.

While Balotelli's natural talent is no secret, his off-the-field issues and attitude problems aren't either, so Liverpool's decision to pay AC Milan £16 million for Super Mario in the summer was somewhat baffling.

Many in Italy were shocked that Liverpool were willing to foot such a bill for a man Milan had as good as admitted they were desperate to get rid of, not least because there's a wealth of deadly strikers plying their trade in Serie A who could be snapped up much cheaper.

One man whose stock has risen greatly since the summer is Fiorentina marksman Khouma Babacar, who could be a great option for Liverpool.

The 6ft 3inch striker became known to Italian fans last season when he lit up Serie B with Modena and he has made the transition to the top flight with aplomb this term.

Thrust into the starting line-up thanks to injuries to star strikers Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Gomez, Babacar has taken full advantage and netted four times already on the Serie A stage.

At the age of 21, the Senegalese striker will continue to grow, but his innate eye for goal is a rare gift. As well as his imposing physical presence, which would be invaluable in the Premier League, Babacar's main strength is his ability to pick up the ball on the edge of the box and launch a screamer.

This goal against Inter shows exactly what Babacar is capable of as he finds some space outside the Inter box and unleashes a rocket.

At this stage in his development Babacar seems happy at Fiorentina, where he is under contract until 2016, but it seems unlikely that he'd be able to resist a move to the bright lights of the Premier League.

A fee of around £8 million would probably be enough to force the Viola to seriously consider letting Babacar go and that could prove to be money well invested for Liverpool, who may even recoup the sum they wasted on trying the quick fix of Balotelli.

Paul Watson

Paul Watson wrote for Football Italia for four years before fleeing to the tiny Micronesian island of Pohnpei to coach the world's lowest ranked national football team. On his return he released a book called 'Up Pohnpei' in February 2012. A documentary called The Soccermen follows in early 2014 and a feature film of the book is in production. Paul is currently head coach at a new Mongolian Premier League club and is charged with the mission of creating the strongest team in Mongolian football history.